"We're obviously trying to support each other as much as we can. "I have shared my groceries with a couple of friends," Maza said. The international education sector contributes more than AU$30 billion (US$21.4 billion) to the Australian economy, including almost AU$6 billion in Queensland alone. That fact alone raises questions why Australian governments have not responded to students’ needs. The 24-year-old from El Salvador said many students were trying to pool their food and accommodation after being stood down from casual jobs. "If, one month ago, someone would have told me 'in a month's time you are going to be struggling to pay your bills, food and rent', I wouldn't believe it." "No-one was prepared for how this was going to explode out of nowhere," Maza told ABC, the national broadcaster. Like thousands of other students around the country, she suddenly found herself facing significant financial distress in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. But temporary visa holders, like the international students, are yet to be offered significant government financial help.ĭaniela Maza is a foreign student who has lived in Australia for the past four years, studying for a degree in Brisbane. More than 500,000 international students were in Australia when the coronavirus pandemic was declared, and many are now struggling to pay their bills. These include Universities Australia, the Group of Eight leading universities, the Australian Technology Network of Universities, Innovative Research Universities and the Regional Universities Network. Higher education peak bodies have small numbers of staff monitoring what has become a disastrous situation. In Australia, the more than one million students and 100,000 teaching and allied staff employed by 43 universities are based at home, waiting for the national emergency to end. An estimated 1.8 billion students have been affected by educational institution lockdowns.Ĭlosures of schools and higher education institutions continue in many countries, disrupting a large chunk of the 2020 academic year. Tweet Universities have joined with schools and colleges across the globe in shutting down most activities as the impact of the coronavirus affects almost every aspect of life.
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